Survivors
by kernelcrashdump
Summary: London is in shambles after the Reapers are destroyed and Garrus is looking for hope among the rubble.
1. Chapter 1

The dust hung thick in the air, a low cloud that stung your eyes and blackened your skin and clothes. He was not unused to nor averse to being covered in grime and debris, but after the days and weeks of fighting, looking down the barrel of countless days to be spent picking through rubble had Garrus' feeling uneasy and exhausted.

The Reapers had been eradicated, and now the allied fleets began the long and arduous task of cleaning-up and rebuilding. The first day was spent, for most, in celebration and toasting the fallen, but Garrus was part of a small faction that had immediately began to search for survivors. If he were honest, he didn't hold out much hope that they'd find any; he was looking for bodies.

One body.

He and a few of the others started their search in the area around where he fought during the final hours of the War, figuring it was as good of a place as any. It was the last place he had laid his eyes on Shepard, watching her run headlong into an obstacle course of exploding vehicles, asphalt and concrete, all fodder for the Reaper's laser. As the hours passed and fighting raged on, he felt the bitter realization seeping into his bones that she had failed, falling victim to their enemy on that stretch of road. Then a handful of reports came in from the wounded. They claimed she lived, one managing to say she had staggered past him, firing on husks and reaching the Conduit beam before his words were lost amid the blood that gurgled up thickly from his lungs.

Then, suddenly, the lasers were silenced. Reaper footsoldiers began to spark and malfunction before finally self-destructing. The ships halted and became lifeless hulks, the Crucible firing on them without discretion. Allied forces, in their haste destroyed several dozen more in great flaming bursts in the night sky above Earth before they realized their foe was incapacitated and a ceasefire was issued.

Shepard had done it again. Some said they would never know who did it. Anderson had been seen going into the same beam. Garrus respected Anderson, and he was sure he played a pivotal role, but no. This had Shepard written all over it, her last hurrah, thumbing her nose at millennia of galactic history.

Garrus had not considered himself an optimist in a very long time. First soured by the reigning bureaucracy and lack of effectiveness in C-Sec and then again when he was betrayed by one of his own men at the cost of eleven innocent lives, he found that the dawn of that first morning, blissfully lacking in the flanging rumble of the invader's weapons, rang hollow in his own heart, aware that the woman he had followed into many battles and slept beside many nights was likely gone forever. His only hope was to see her face one more time and, perhaps to honor her with a proper burial. Her manner of death was fitting, but her body deserved to be respected and not to lay mangled in a heap to be carried away by the birds.

They had no idea where to even begin, but out there looking amongst the Reaper rubble felt more like home than drinking booze with a Turian platoon. The search lasted from first light until dusk by which time he had resigned himself to the futility of his goal.

So many bodies.

Each different but the same, some beyond recognition and only identified by their dog tags, hundreds of others lost to history, civilians.

Shepard was really no different than any of them. He had hoped - believed - that she was superhuman once. The things she had accomplished; the role she seemed destined to play. Surely she was more than just ... human.

The call came to return to camp a little after 6:30, Earth time. Garrus gathered his men and they headed back. There was a short debriefing and he checked the updated lists of survivors and fallen before finding his tent for a little rack time. Looking at the small stretched canvas cot, he realized it had been days since he'd last slept, even a little bit. He disengaged the shielding on his armor and began to remove it piece-by-piece, laying them out on a nearby surface. As he set the chestplate down, his finger traced a deep gouge in the blue metal's surface. He hadn't noticed it before, and briefly wondered when he had acquired it, but shrugged internally and reached to remove his greaves.

Somewhere outside his tent, Garrus heard a distinctly human voice amongst all the turians but tried to tune out the words. Sleep was becoming more and more inviting, the closer he got to laying down.

"What are you doing here?" asked a turian, irritated.

"I'm looking for someone," said the human. He sounded young. "A turian."

"That doesn't help, kid. Do you know the name of this turian?"

"Garrus Vakarian."


	2. Chapter 2

Without bothering to put on the top half of his armor, Garrus exited the tent and scanned the area for the speakers and found them at the nearest gate, the guard demanding an explanation. The human was young, couldn't be more than sixteen and clearly civilian.

"What is it, Wikas?" Garrus asked the guard as he approached, scanning the boy quickly.

"He says he needs you to go to his camp."

Turning his eyes on the boy, he asked, "And why would I do that?"

"She asked for you by name."

His heart began to thump a little faster and he said, "Who asked for me?"

"A woman staggered into our camp this morning. Bloody and very weak. My mother met her and helped her into our tent and laid her down. She was wearing pieces of Alliance armor so I went to their camps first. Met a doctor who came back with me. She sent me to find you; said there may not be much time. You must come; I've been gone too long and my mother will worry. It is a long walk back."

Garrus didn't want to hope, but it had to be Shepard and the doctor had to be Chakwas. Who else would send for him?

"What's your name?" he asked the boy, beckoning him to follow him to his tent.

"David."

"How far is your camp, David?" Garrus quickly remounted his armor.

"Three miles, sir."

Outside the tent, Garrus spotted an empty truck.

"Kovach," he called to a soldier working on a datapad near the vehicle.

"Sir?"

"I need to borrow your truck to get this boy back to his camp."

"Oh. Alright." He looked a little unsure, but moved aside anyway.

"I'll bring it back."

"Yes, sir."

He started up the truck and waited for the boy to climb inside before rumbling out of the gate and onto a road littered with rubble.

"You walked three miles for a strange woman that passed out in your tent?" asked Garrus after a few moments of turbulent silence.

"Yes, sir. The doctor said it was important."

"Did she say the woman was going to be alright, or…?" His voice trailed, and the glimmer of hope that had suddenly taken residence in his heart would not allow him to finish.

"She didn't say."

Garrus drove faster, following the quick directions the boy gave until they reached a small settlement. They both ejected from the truck and the boy beckoned him to follow.

"Mum! Mum! I'm home. I've found him!"

A tall, slender woman stepped out of a tent and the he grabbed her around her middle, nearly bowling her over. As Garrus reached them, another woman exited the tent and his suspicions were confirmed.

"Garrus, quick," said Dr. Karin Chakwas. "But brace yourself."

He took a deep breath and ducked into the tent. There, on a pallet of blankets and pillows was the body for which he'd been searching all day. The deep breath had been taken in vain as the air rushed from him at the sight of the torn and bloody torso. It had been bandaged, but they were already soaked through. The face was bruised, almost beyond recognition, but he could see features that were familiar. He shoulder-length auburn hair was singed and burned in places, but he recognized it instantly, even in the dim lighting in the tent.

"Oh," he gasped, dropping to his knees beside her. "Is she alive?"

"Barely, but yes," said the doctor, kneeling on the opposite side of Shepard, omni-tool glowing as it performed scans. "I don't know how she walked into this camp."

"Kind of like this," said a small girl, much younger than David whom Garrus had not even noticed was standing nearby. The girl then staggered across the room and fell over. "But she was awake then."

Garrus blinked at the child and knew he would have found it more amusing if Amelia didn't look like she was bleeding out in front of him.

"Yumi," scolded the mother, reentering just in time to see the display. Then, with an apologetic look at the turian, she said, "I'm sorry, sir. She is very young."

"No, it's … fine," said Garrus. "She may be very young, but she is also very clever. Thank you for taking care of my friend."

"I've been applying medi-gel as often as I can," said Chakwas, "but her injuries are severe. A hospital would be better, but we need to let the gel work now."

"What about the Alliance med-tent?" asked Garrus. "Wouldn't that be better than this?"

Chakwas looked conflicted.

"Yes, but … I feel that the anonymity of this home would suit her recovery better."

Garrus looked around again, the children sitting quietly nearby, their mother having gone outside to tend food cooking over an open fire. They had no idea who any of them were. He understood the doctor's opinion on the matter and shifted to sit on the floor, stretching out his legs in front of him.

"She doesn't mind?" he asked, referring to the woman outside.

"Her name is Lentea, and no, I don't think so. She has been very hospitable and generous since I arrived. They don't have much, but what they have, they have freely offered, though this won't be more burden to them than keeping an eye on her. I have already informed the medical staff that rounds should be made to the civilian camps now that the War is over, and they seemed to agree. I will be able to offer her the same standard of care here, without the press."

"So, you've told no one?"

"I wanted you to be the first, especially when it seemed so dire before. But, she is stabilizing. The extent of her injuries left her in a terrible shock. It was touch-and-go for awhile. I will come back in the morning and check on her. David knows where to find me if something happens in the night."

"Karin, thank you," said Garrus.

Digging in her bag, she pulled out a few small canisters.

"Being a human settlement, you won't be able to find anything suitable for you to eat. It's not much, but here is some nutrient paste to get you to morning. I'll bring something more for you then."

"I'll be fine."

"When was the last time you ate?"

Garrus thought a moment and the woman gave him a stern look, pushing the canisters into his hands.

"Eat, Vakarian. You dying of starvation after we took out the Reapers is a piss-poor ending to your biography."


	3. Chapter 3

That had been two nights ago and, now, on the third day of search and recovery, Garrus would have rather been back at Lentea's tent, sitting beside Shepard - or Amelia, as she preferred to be called now - who had been awake since the previous morning and in a lot of pain, but very much alive. Though, the death and destruction was made easier knowing he wasn't going to find her mangled body under some pile of rubble. She was still very weak and insisted he not waste away beside her while she recuperated. He had initially refused but with a familiar look, she pulled rank and he had reluctantly followed her order. It was nice, though, to return from a day of digging to find her sitting up and playing card games with David and Yumi. He heard her laugh the night before, something he had sorely missed.

Standing atop a heap of steel and cement, Garrus looked out over the area around him. It was as though he was viewing two different worlds from up there; one in shambles and still smoldering, the other bustling with life. Once the recovery teams had cleared structures and areas of survivors or bodies, crews would come in with mechs and shuttles to carry away the debris for recycling. Where the streets were clear, the settlements had already begun to expand. Though they couldn't return to their homes permanently yet because of the reduced energy and resources available, they were allowed to claim items that might make their living a bit more comfortable or familiar, so children could be seen within the camps playing and laughing.

He smiled to himself before returning his gaze to the destruction. He liked to get a good mental picture of the road ahead to refer back to while he was on the ground. When he was sure he had it laid out in his head, he made his way carefully down the side of the heap. At the bottom, he stumbled a bit on an unsteady plank but managed to catch himself before hitting the pavement.

"Watch your feet, Vakarian," chided another turian nearby. "I don't want to have to carry you back to camp."

Garrus waved him off.

"We'll see who is carrying whom at the end of the day, Valerii," he returned in playful banter. He had known Corvin Valerii since they were children, their fathers both serving in C-Sec. They had fallen out of some touch the last few years, but were reunited when Corvin showed up to help with search and recovery after the Reapers were shut down. Something caught Garrus' eye as he dusted his palms, a human hand sticking out of the pile he'd just been standing on.

"Corvin! Come help me," he called and Valerii came to his aid, helping him heft a portion of a steel barricade that was covering the body. Once they were able to uncover it, they could tell it was a young woman, her reddish-brown hair covering half her face. She was splayed unceremoniously, a wound on her side probably the cause of death. One arm was still under the rubble, reaching in the direction her head was facing. Corvin knelt to lift her up, and as he did, her arm was pulled free of the debris and Garrus gasped.

"Stop, stop, wait."

Her hand was tightly clenching a baby's arm, the rest of the child still hidden in the pile. Heart racing, Garrus quickly cleared the rubble with Valerii's help, exposing a small dugout where a baby was laying, covered in soot and dust.

"Oh, no," breathed Garrus, feeling terrible emotion at the sight of this tiny little person, who most likely suffocated to death in this hole. As Corvin pulled the woman away, Garrus reached to lift the child in his arms. Its body hung limply from his hands and he closed his eyes and swore under his breath.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Garrus," said Corvin. He was a little confused, but patted his friend on the shoulder nonetheless.

"Too many children died in this War," whispered Garrus, holding the child to his chestplate. He was quiet for a moment and then suddenly let out a long yell of frustration.

The baby in his arms gave a start and began to cry, eyes wide. Both turians gaped at the child and without a word, started running toward the settlements.

"We need a doctor!" called Corvin. "Anyone, please! A doctor!"

A young man emerged from a tent with a medical bag.

"I'm a nurse," he said and Garrus recognized the Alliance patch on his chest.

"We found this child under some rubble."

Quickly, the man rushed to them and took the child from his arms and began scanning it with his omnitool.

"No injuries. Hasn't eaten in awhile though. Days."

"Probably been hidden since the Reapers were still here," noted Corvin. Garrus could hardly take his eyes off the child.

"I will take her back to the med tent for observation once I finish rounds."

"Her?"

"Yes, I-"

"I can take her," Garrus interrupted.

"I don't mind," the nurse replied, patting the baby's back on his shoulder as she quieted down.

"I will take her," said Garrus, holding out his hands to take the child back. "I know Dr. Chakwas. We have served together for awhile now-"

"Oh! Mr. Vakarian! I didn't know. Here," said the nurse, carefully moving the baby to his arms. Garrus was surprised to be recognized by this human and Corvin seemed amused. Still, he didn't mind so long as the man didn't insist on taking the child away from him. He didn't know if it was because he found her, or if it was her wispy red hair, or if he just needed a little beacon of life to encourage him to keep searching.

Once the child was in his hands again, though, Garrus was a little lost as to how to properly hold it. The nurse had so easily taken her in his arms and calmed her, the baby looking like it fit perfectly against his chest and shoulder. This didn't work so well with turian anatomy, not to mention the armor. The nurse noticed his befuddlement and said, "If I, uh, may."

Then, he helped Garrus reposition the little girl against his chestplate and moved one of his hands cradle her neck.

"Always make sure to support her head," he instructed. "One hand behind the head or on her back, and the other holding her gently but securely will be most comfortable for the both of you."

The little girl blinked her big green eyes at Garrus and something clicked into place inside his head.

"You should get her to Dr. Chakwas soon," said the nurse, digging in his bag and coming up with a tube of baby food. "And try to get her to eat some of this on the way."

Garrus thanked him and turned to his friend, feeling quite proud of himself for managing to hold human young properly with minimal instruction. Valerii's mandibles twitched and Garrus narrowed his eyes.

"Don't even start with me, Corvin."

"Are you going to keep it?"

"Let's get to the Alliance camp. She needs a doctor."

"You are! You're going to keep it! Oh, this is too good," laughed the other turian.

"There's a shuttle at camp we can use to get there faster."

"How are you going to fly with that suckling on your shoulder?"

"Why do you think I'm bringing you with me? Come on."

The two of them made it to the Turian Fleet's camp a few minutes later and Corvin had settled into the pilot's seat in the empty shuttle.

"Help me for a second before you take off," said Garrus, holding out his arm toward Valerii. Remove my gauntlets. Corvin stared at him for a moment. "Please, Corvin. Humans are soft. This one hasn't eaten in awhile and I am afraid to bruise it."

His friend sighed, but removed the gauntlets without argument. Once his hands were free, Garrus could finally feel the child in his arms. Mindful of his talons, he lightly stroked the wisps of red hair at the base of the baby's skull.

"So soft," he murmured, "And warm."

Corvin gave him a sidelong glance as he piloted the shuttle over the settlements and camps. Shifting a little, Garrus cradled the child in the crook of his arm and tore the tube open. The little girl watched him, making small noises when she seemed to realize he was about to give her food.

"Smells funny," commented Corvin.

"Smells like bananas."

"Like what?"

"It's a fruit humans eat. The commander used to say they were good for muscle cramps."

Garrus smeared a little of the yellowish goo on the baby's lips. She licked at it and made noises until he gave her a little more.

"She like it?" asked Corvin.

The baby made a high trilling noise, and began to kick her feet, mouth open for more.

"I think so."

They had reached the human camp. Corvin radioed the reason for their visit and requested for Dr. Chakwas to meet them at the shuttle. She was waiting as requested, entering data into her omnitool when Garrus stepped out of the craft.

"Where was she?"

"About five miles from here in a pile of rubble."

Chakwas shook her head a little and asked, "Parents?"

"A woman was found holding her arm. Possibly the mother. Dead."

"I see you got her to eat something. I'll put her in an incubator for a bit and let her get some of her strength back. Someone could be looking for her; I'll put out a notice-"

She stopped abruptly when the turian pivoted, taking the baby out of her reach.

"Anyone could come and take her, Karin … no."

"But how are you-?"

Garrus gave her a meaningful look and she sighed, "But what if her father is alive?"

"Don't all humans have biochips? Can't you pull the data and find out who the father is and crosscheck with the list of survivors?"

"Garrus, you can't possibly expect to raise a human child on your own," Corvin interjected, unable to humor his friend any longer.

Garrus didn't even acknowledge him.

"Can't you?" he persisted.

"Sure, but..." Chakwas voice trailed.

"Please, doctor, no notices yet."

"Okay, fine. You have to let me take her for now."

Garrus handed her to the doctor and she thanked him.

"Come back after your shift and we can talk about this more."

Garrus watched her until disappeared into a med tent and Corvin said, "Come on. We have to get back."


	4. Chapter 4

As the sun began to sink behind the empty buildings, Garrus radioed to the Alliance camp on a secure channel.

"She is asking for you," said Doctor Chakwas.

Garrus chuckled and said, "I'll be damned. I didn't know human children could speak at birth."

"They can't. I wasn't talking about the baby."

He was disappointed.

"Oh." Then he remembered of whom she was speaking. "Oh!"

"Yes. Oh."

"Did you tell her about the baby?"

"No, I thought I might talk you out of it first."

"I will be down in a minute."

He caught a shuttle going on a supply run to the Alliance camps and met the doctor in the med tent, gauntlets already off. The baby was in her arms and she was feeding it.

"May I hold her?"

Chakwas nodded and set the baby in the crook of his arm.

"Just like before, Vakarian." The baby gurgled and stretched her legs out. "She loves bananas. Here is her spoon."

Garrus admired the child as he fed her. The more he observed, the more he was determined to raise her as his own.

Their own.

"Is her father alive?"

"No. Neither parent is listed on the biochip. She has been living in an orphanage."

"Then why are you so opposed to us raising it?"

"You have been fighting a war for the better part of four years. It has nearly killed both of you multiple times. Don't you think you should spend some time together, apart from all this, before you start raising a family?"

Garrus sighed, but nodded eventually.

"But don't let her go back to the orphanage yet."

"I will let you take her to Lentea's, if you would like."

"Let me talk to her first, but promise me, you won't let anyone take her."

The doctor gave a small smile and took the child from him.

"Let me know what she says. If she is agreeable, I can bring her by tomorrow morning."

Before he left, Garrus stroked the top of the little girl's head.

"Goodnight, my little one."

Feeling oddly incomplete, he began the mile walk to Lentea's home where Shepherd was recuperating. All he could think about was the child; how her wispy red hair and her big green eyes were the same as Amelia's; how he would very much like to have children with her, even though he knew they couldn't. After the stress of the War and then the overwhelming relief that it was over, the thought of raising a child almost choked him up. He wanted something to go right; that is what he had told Shepherd their first night together, wasn't it?

And that baby felt so right.

She was sitting up against a mountain of pillows and blankets, reading by lamplight when he came in.

"Where is everyone?" he asked after a quick glance around the small room.

"The kids were getting a little stir crazy so she took them to the mess tent for dinner and to see some of their friends."

"Oh, do I need to get you and I something then?" asked Garrus, jutting a thumb over his shoulder.

"They're bringing ours back with them. Relax a little, Vakarian. Come sit with me."

Garrus disengaged his armor and stripped out of it quickly, pulling on a set of casual wear before settling down beside her. Amelia let him slip his arm around her shoulders and leaned on his chest.

"How is it looking out there?" she asked, setting her book aside.

"Better. The clean-up crews are swift and the settlements are expanding. Once Chakwas clears you and you're on your feet, we shouldn't have any problem finding our own place."

"Lentea said they were going to start letting people back into some of the buildings."

"I heard that, too. There aren't many left standing, but there will be some lucky ones that can get their homes back. Too bad every city doesn't have a squad of creepy little keepers like the Citadel to handle repair and rebuilding. Some are saying a couple of the wards are already powered back up. It will take a few days for the atmosphere to replenish, though."

At the mention of the Citadel, Shepard shuddered, remembering when she entered the Conduit beam. It had deposited her in darkened corridor, walls lined with piles of bodies from Earth. She remembered a keeper, picking through the corpses, salvaging any tech and armor, probably to recycle for repair.

"You alright?" asked Garrus, focusing a concerned eye on her.

"Yeah, just thinking about the Citadel."

She had been fairly tight-lipped about what she encountered up there, mostly because they were doing their best to keep her identity secret, but also because she and Garrus were rarely alone. He had a lot of questions, she knew, but he never pressed, something she appreciated.

"One of the news bursts said volunteer crews have been sent to the Citadel to sort the dead and to search for survivors," said Shepard.

Garrus cleared his throat.

"Yes. Not a job I would want," he said frankly, "It's hard enough down here, where the bodies were already mostly removed by the Reapers. We have found some people though."

Amelia forced the images of the stockpiled dead from her mind and hopes Garrus had better news for her.

"Any survivors?" she asked.

"Actually, yes. One team found a few civilians trapped in one of the buildings. Injured and weak, but alive. And then," he began, pausing thoughtfully. Shepard shifted a little to look at his face.

"What?"

"I found a little girl under a pile of rubble," he said, a distant look in his eyes. "A baby."

Amelia felt a weight sink into the pit of her stomach. Her breath hitched in her throat, "Oh, no."

Garrus blinked and made eye contact.

"She's alive, Amelia. Not a scratch on her."

She didn't know why, but this news made her eyes well with tears. He went on and recounted the story of finding her and of taking her to Chakwas, stressing that she was orphaned, even before the attack. Shepard didn't cry, though she thought she was going to for a bit. Just knowing that, in the midst of all the destruction left behind after the invasion, a baby could survive against all odds, even under a pile of rubble. As Garrus spoke, her laughter bubbled up from her chest and escaped before she could stop it.

"Did I say something funny?" he asked, a little confused.

"She's alive!" laughed Amelia, the tears trailing down her cheeks and gathering at the corners of her smile. She wiped her cheeks. "That's who we were fighting for, Garrus. All this time, after Saren and Sovereign and the Collectors and all of it; that's what we were fighting for. Her and David and Yumi and all of them."

"Ah," he said, smiling in that way that turians do, mandibles twitching and his brow plates lifting over his eyes. "Yes."

"I'm glad we're here," said Shepard suddenly. "I might have gone crazy surrounded by military and more dead and dying. There's life here."

Garrus was quiet for a moment but Amelia could tell he was holding something back. From even a close distance, he, like all turians, was a hard read. Their faces physically do not emote the same way humans or asari, but even their nature doesn't always allow for the same emotional spectrum. However, she had been this close to him enough times now that she could tell when he had something to say. Beneath the fabric of his shirt, she could feel that he was tense, holding some of his breath in his chest as though he were saving it for something important.

"What are you thinking about, Vakarian?" she asked, taking his free hand and holding between her own.

"The little girl," he admitted. "I, er … I don't know how to say it."

"How to say what?"

"I want to adopt her."

She let his words sink in a moment before she said, "When can I meet her?"


	5. Chapter 5

Garrus stepped off the shuttle, face set sternly. He had received a call from the turian camp shortly after Chakwas had arrived with the little girl. His goal had been to take a day's rest from search and rescue, but Primarch Victus called him personally and told him there would be a shuttle arriving shortly to collect him.

"Where am I going?" he had asked, a distinct edge to his voice.

"A Reaper."

"Excuse me?"

"We've been trying to get a crew onto one of the Reaper vessels since they were defeated. It has taken us until now to get to a place where we felt we could enter safely. I want you to lead the first group in."

"Today isn't … it isn't good, Primarch."

"I don't remember asking, Vakarian."

He had grabbed his gear and kissed Amelia and the baby goodbye, exiting the tent just as the turian shuttle landed nearby. On the shuttle, he spied Corvin and sat across from him, but held his tongue, even though he wanted to ask for more information. However, knowing he was supposed to be leading this group, he understood that his lack of information would unsettle the others.

Garrus had been called in for this because he had been on a Reaper once before, with Shepard under Cerberus' banner. Still, he had no idea what he was going to find inside this one. The shuttle landed near the fallen ship and the crew disembarked. Even though he knew the beast was nothing but an empty shell, the sight of it was still eerie. He would much rather be back at Lentea's tent, watching Amelia feed the baby.

He motioned for the team to fall in behind him and they entered. Garrus heard one of them pull a rifle and spun on his heel.

"The Reapers are dead, Lauritzen. This isn't a battle; this is recon. You start pulling your gun now, you're liable to shoot anything that moves which is likely to be any one of us. Put it away."

The younger turian quickly stowed his firearm. Farther into the ship, the main passage split into a 'Y' and Garrus divided his men up into two groups.

"Stay in radio contact and let me know if you find anything interesting," he ordered the departing team. As his own team began down the dimly lit hallway, Corvin made his way to the front of the line with Garrus.

"So … how's the human?"

Garrus rounded on him, growling, "Excuse me?"

His friend held up a hand, stepping back, "Sorry, Garrus; the baby."

"Oh," mumbled Garrus, "She's fine. I visited her again last night, after our shift ended."

Valerii must have picked up that it wasn't something Garrus felt much like talking about and didn't bring it up again. Finding a large cavernous room, his group fanned out and began examining consoles and dark corners, omnitools glowing. This room reminded him of the Reaper he had been in before, but there were no dragon's teeth protruding from the larger opening ahead. Approaching a railing, Garrus looked down onto the lower level. The sight he was greeted with was a gruesome one. About fifty feet below, the walls were lined with corrugated tubing and glass chambers that looked to be the same technology as they found on the Collector ship. Some of the tanks had broken open during either the battle or the firing of the Crucible and there were corpses littering the ground, some already partially broken down into the genetic soup that the Reapers used to construct their ships and their footsoldiers. Some of these were human, but it seemed many races were represented; Krogan, Turian and even Batarian.

Then, near one of the broken tanks, movement caught his eye.

"Lauritzen!" he shouted, beckoning the soldier to take his place at the railing. Pointing, he ordered, "Keep your eyes on that corner right there. I saw movement."

With the soldier's eyes fixed on the lower level, Garrus motioned for Corvin to join him. After some searching, they found a stairwell that led them to the subdeck. A strange noise reached Garrus' ears and he stopped, inclining his left ear since his right one was damaged some in an unfortunate encounter with a rocket.

"What is that?" he muttered under his breath. It sounded again and Corvin swore, charging ahead. "Corvin, wait."

"I think I know what that is, Garrus. Hurry up."

Corvin stopped several yards ahead and as Garrus caught up to him, he could hear a sharp hissing noise from the darkness ahead.

"Whoa, now," said Garrus quietly, stepping in front of his friend, his feet making sticking noises in the layer of slime covering the floor. The hissing quieted when they stopped moving forward, but the smaller noise could still be heard.

"I think it's another child," Corvin explained carefully. "Turian. Reminds me of my son."

Garrus nodded and illuminated the flashlight on his omnitool. The hissing sounded again as the light shined into the darkness, landing on a turian child, no more than four years of age, crouched in front of an overturned tank, shielding his eyes with one hand.

"Oh, my," murmured Garrus, moving the light from the child's eyes. He knelt with an outstretched hand and said, "My name is Garrus; I'm not here to hurt you. Can you come a bit closer?"

The child growled in his throat, recoiling from the hand, even though it was several feet away.

"That's not what I heard," said Corvin when Garrus returned to his side. "I heard-"

A raspy cry broke out from near the child and both men looked back to find the boy cradling something in his arms.

"-a baby."


	6. Chapter 6

In the boy's arms was a Turian baby, small, but not as small as the little girl they'd found the day before. Any time any of the other turians would try to approach with food, the older child would snap at them, growling like an animal. It was obvious they were both very malnourished, their plates pale. Garrus decided to take a different tack with the child and ordered his men to continue searching the ship, looking for any other possible survivors while he found a crate on which to sit at a comfortable distance from the children.

The boy watched him closely, eyes flitting around every time he heard a noise. Garrus took care to never look at him directly, only in sidelong glances. He was impressed at the child's protective nature over the baby, presumably his own sibling, but no way to be sure. After he felt the boy had adequately sized him up, he set some food on another crate nearby to keep it out of the filth covering the floor.

It was another several minutes before the boy crept closer, the baby still cradled in his arm. Still eyeing Garrus suspiciously, he sat the baby on the crate and began to tear the food into small pieces. Able to see the little one better, Garrus could tell the baby was also a boy, with searching eyes. The child could sit up easily on his own, but was a bit wobbly. He ate with enthusiasm, the older boy feeding him first and taking only small bites for himself.

"Hey," said Garrus quietly. The boy jumped, blue eyes wide as the man moved to sit closer. "What's your name?"

The boy continued to feed the baby, occasionally casting wary glances toward Garrus, but never spoke. Garrus noticed that on top of his plates being terribly pale, they had started to lift at the edges and looked brittle. The baby was in better health, but not by much. He figured the older boy had been scrounging for food and giving most of it to the little one.

"Is that your brother?"

Still, the child regarded him in silence, but he didn't seem scared anymore. As he ate, Garrus noticed that in between feeding the smaller turian, he was very interested in his visor. Once, while he was focused on the baby, Garrus removed the visor and set it next to the food. When the child realized it was there, he reached for it cautiously, then retracted his hand, looking at Garrus in what the man assumed was a question.

"Go ahead, it's okay."

The boy picked up the visor carefully and peered through the blue eyepiece from the front. Garrus smiled and helped him put it on. He tightened the fit as much as he could, but it was still a little big. However, the boy didn't see to mind, mandibles twitching as he ate. Motioning at the other child, Garrus asked, "May I see him?"

The boy didn't stop him when he lifted the baby into his arms. He realized then that his hands were quivering as he examined the boy for any injuries, but he managed to steady them until the child began to purr in his throat and grabbed Garrus' finger tightly.

Just then, the older boy, moved to sit beside Garrus on the crate, holding food up to the man as an offering.

"No, thank you, I'm not hungry just yet."

The boy's hand stayed in the air and he gestured to the baby, pushing the food at Garrus.

"Oh, okay," he said, catching on and feeding it to the child in his arms.

Just then, Garrus' omnitool chirped under the baby's head and both children jumped a little, the older looking inquisitively at the orange glow as Garrus shifted the child and opened a commlink.

"Sir, we've made a thorough sweep of the areas we could access. No more survivors."

"Thank you, Tyrol. Return to the shuttle, we'll be out in a moment."

"Copy that."

Garrus waited a beat before radioing, "Valerii, we're coming up. Get the men on the shuttle."

"You need help?"

"I've got this one."

With that, the omnitool disappeared and Garrus turned his attention to the boy.

"Want to come with me? More food and more visors."

With only a hint of hesitation, the boy followed Garrus to his feet and took his outstretched hand, letting him lead him up the stairs and out of the ship. He kept in physical contact with Garrus all through the shuttle ride, still wearing the visor and focusing on the other men on the ship. Sometimes, he would lift the visor and look at the shuttle with his naked eye, and then alternate between it and the visor a few times before moving on to something else.

One of the men across from him gagged a little bit and apologized. Garrus realized then that the boys didn't smell too pleasant, living in their own waste and the filth from the liquification tubes. Not only had Garrus smelled worse, he'd smelled this all before and had spent enough time surrounded by it while coaxing the boys to come out that he had just blocked it out. The older boy didn't seem to notice that it was bothering anyone, though, and seemed a little nervous, but sat beside Garrus with no complaints.

A doctor met them when they arrived at the turian camp.

"I can take them from here, Commander," she said, reaching for the baby while her nurse held out his hand for the older boy. Immediately, the child began to cry and growl, snapping at the outstretched hand and hiding behind Garrus' leg. Instinctively, Garrus pulled the baby out of the doctor's reach.

"Lead the way, Doctor," he said. "I think it's best if I stay with them for now. They're very skittish around people. It took me a great deal of time to get them to feel comfortable enough with me to even eat the food I was offering."

The doctor didn't argue, saying over her shoulder, "We need to get them cleaned up and clothed first."

"Good idea."

"Do I even want to ask what they're covered in?"

"Probably not. Just know that it's a miracle they survived as long as they did."

Garrus stayed close by through all the bathing and decontamination and after about an hour and and half, they were both cleaned and dressed, the baby sleeping in a reclining carrier. The older boy yawned from beside Garrus and leaned on him tiredly, eyelids drooping behind the visor.

"A shuttle will be here soon to take them to a shelter that has been set-up for orphans. The little one will probably not have to stay long. He is in the best health and very adoptable, even with the rebuilding going on. "

Garrus didn't like the direction this conversation was going, but held his tongue.

"As for the other boy, as soon as his plates begin to gain some color, he'll be taken to an orphanage on Palaven. The social atmosphere will do him some good."

"They can't be adopted together?"

"The galaxy is reeling from a full-scale attack, Commander. The chances are very slim that someone would be able to take both."

"But this one won't let you take his brother out of his sight."

"We have no proof that they are brothers, sir.""

"The fact that he was starving and giving the baby his food isn't proof enough?"

"I'm sure he cares a great deal, but we'll sedate him if we have to. He is young enough that the baby will probably be forgotten with the rest of the Reaper experience when his brain recovers from the stress.."

"Bring me something to sign. I'm taking them with me."

"You can't just-"

"Figure it out, Doctor. Or don't. Either way, I'm leaving, and they're coming with me."

Mandibles flaring, the doctor turned on her heel and left him alone with the two children. He looked at them, compassion clouding his better judgment. He had no idea how he was going to tell Shepard and it occurred to him that they weren't even staying in their own place. The baby purred a little in his sleep and he determined then that Amelia would just have to understand and he would make it up as best as he could to Lentea.

The doctor returned hefting a rucksack and said, "You are all free to leave. I would recommend you bring them back in a couple weeks for a check-up, or as soon as something seems out of the ordinary. The older boy's immune system is weakened, but it should rebound with proper nutrition. I have managed to procure a few changes of clothes for both boys and some formula and bottles for the baby."

Garrus thanked her and sent Corvin a message that he needed a ride back to the human settlement. Carefully, he stood and lifted the boy and the visor onto one shoulder, the rucksack on the other. It was his first real test as a parent, whether or not he could carry all three and the doctor had left offering no further help. After a few moments, he found the proper balance of the child and the sack on his shoulder to free up one hand to lift the carrier.

He made his way through the camp to landing zone and ignored Corvin's look of surprise as he loaded himself and the children onto the shuttle as though this was the most normal thing in the world.

"Are we dropping them off somewhere on the way?" asked Valerii.

"No, they're coming with me."

"Garrus," said Corvin, his tone admonishing. "You can't possibly…"

"I wish people would stop saying that. "

"The human child, and now two turians? Were you knocked in the head in that final battle? I'm really worried how you are going to manage three kids on your own."

"I'm not on my, Corvin. Do you think I'm just staying at the human camp for a change of scenery?"

"I don't know, I thought you'd just grown fond of them, serving on Alliance ships for the past few years."

Garrus rolled his eyes, but said nothing further. His friend shook his head as the shuttle lifted from the ground.

"Well, whoever it is must be one hell of a woman to be graciously saddled with three children while living in a tent on a war-torn planet."

"She is."

They flew in silence for a bit until Corvin spoke again.

"I think you're the first turian I've known or heard of that has dated a human."

"Spirits, Corvin, we're not dating. What are we? Sixteen? We're just together, and it doesn't matter that she's human, politics be damned. After this war, none of that should matter. We're all on the same side now."

"I wasn't judging; I was just making conversation. How is the little girl, anyway?"

"I was supposed to be spending today with her, but that obviously didn't happen."

"It seems to me that it was fortuitous for these two that it didn't."

Garrus glanced at the boy strapped in behind him, the blue light from the visor flickering on his closed eyelid. He was probably never going to get that visor back, but it didn't matter to him anymore.

"Yes, it seems that way. Hopefully, Amelia had a good day with her, without me."

Corvin was quiet for a moment before asking, "Wait a minute, what?"

Frowning, Garrus returned his eyes to the pilot, "What?"

Valerii gaped at his passenger, "Did you say Amelia?"

"What?"

"As in, Amelia Shepard? As in, Commander Shepard? As in, destroyed-the-Reapers-and-killed-in-action-  
Commander Shepard?"

"Corvin-"

"Commander Shepard!"

"Could you please quiet down? The boys are asleep."

His friend lowered his voice to an urgent whisper and repeated, "Commander Shepard! She was your commanding officer!"

"And my friend."

"And now, your mate?"

"I … I don't … I never intended it to become what it is, but it did, and I'm … we're … happy. At least, I think so."

The shuttle set down near the human camp.

"I won't say anything, Garrus," said Corvin before it was asked of him. "If anyone deserves to disappear for a long while and raise a family without the galaxy watching, it's you. And her."

"Thank you, Corvin. I won't forget your discretion."

Garrus turned back to the children still sleeping in the rear and his friend followed his gaze.

"To be honest, I miss having little ones around. You want some help carrying them in?"

"You just want her autograph, don't lie."

Valerii smiled and shrugged, turning back to the navigational controls, "It was worth a try."


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: I have been remiss! Thank you all for your favorites and follows and reviews. It has been a long time since I wrote fanfiction, let alone anything with such a complex mythology. With this chapter, I complete this piece, but hope to have more soon. However, the next will probably not be Shakarian (though, I do love it so). Then again, inspiration may strike and it all could change.

Sorry this took so long to post - Busy schedule and Christmas, etc ... didn't leave me a lot of time for writing. Thank you again for your patience and support. I hope you enjoy!

~Kernel C.D.  
_

"Garrus?"

He paused and turned turned at the waist to find David and Yumi approaching carrying packs from the mess tent. They looked at him quizzically, eyeing the form slumped on his shoulder. It didn't take long for Yumi's eyes to land on the carrier and realize what she was seeing.

"Is that a baby?" she gasped, eyebrows jumping on her forehead.

Garrus ignored the question, however, as he was hoping to speak to Lentea before walking in with two more mouths to feed.

"Is your mother around?" he asked, gesturing toward the mess tent with a small movement of the carrier.

David shook his head, "No, she was meeting with someone from the settlement council. She sent us to get food. Might be on her way back, now, though. It's been awhile."

"Miss Lia got up today, Mr. Garries," said the girl, still watching the sleeping baby. "Walked around and all. I've never seen a baby Turian before, Mr. Garries. Is it coming to stay with us, too?"

"Uh, well, about that - I'd really like to talk to your moth-"

"David; Yumi," said a familiar voice, scolding. "You two haven't gotten back to the tent yet? That baby was hungry an hour ago!"

Lentea materialized out of the crowd of settlers, face set in a frown. Her children apologized and took off at a jog to return to their home. As soon as they were out of earshot, she gave the turian a conspiratorial wink.

"Don't worry; Chakwas had left plenty of food for the baby. I just like to see them act like they're in a hurry once in awhile."

The baby in the carrier suddenly sneezed twice in quick succession, causing Lentea to jump a little. The child looked up at her bleary-eyed for only a second before falling back to sleep.

"Is that a baby?"

Garrus adjusted his burdens a little before nodding, "Yes, it is. He and his brother-"

She then noticed the child on his shoulder and covered her mouth, "Oh, my."

"-were collected by the Reapers. I found them on one of the big ships this morning."

"Are they alright?"

"Tired and hungry, but otherwise fine. They, er … won't let me go."

Lentea's eyebrows knitted together, half from concern and half from sympathy. Then, she gave Garrus a knowing look.

"I haven't known you long, Garrus, but I'm fairly sure you weren't exactly pushing them away."

If he could have, he would have shrugged, but as it was his head dipped a little to one side and he said, "No, not exactly."

She smiled, for which he was grateful, and said, "Don't worry. We will make room. Lia was walking today." Garrus nodded, often forgetting that they hadn't given Shepard's real name to their host.

"Yumi mentioned that."

"She seems to be feeling quite well. Even the doctor was pleased with her recovery. If you want my opinion, I think it was the baby."

This surprised Garrus some, "You think so?"

"Definitely. She was positively beaming most of the day."

"The girl is still with her, though, you said?"

"Yes, I told Karin that if she was willing to let her stay, I was more than happy to help take care of her. That goes for these two, as well. If we are unwilling to help each other, the galaxy would have been better off if the Reapers had succeeded."

Garrus was quiet most of the way home, but stopped short of the tent and said, "Can I ask one more favor of you?"

"Sure, but I think the kids and I need to stop by the supply tent and look for some more blankets and pillows. We'll have dinner when we get back," she said, knowing the question before it was asked. She called for her children and they disappeared into a crowd of other humans enjoying the pleasant weather before dusk.

Stepping closer to the tent, he could hear Amelia singing softly inside. He had never heard her sing before and found he would like to listen to it more often. He shifted to pull the curtain back but stopped.

"Hey," he whispered to the little boy asleep on his shoulder. He shook his shoulder a bit and said again a little louder, "Hey. Can you wake up?"

The child's eyes didn't even flicker.

There was no use putting it off any longer. Soon, Lentea and the children would be returning and the moment would be lost. Pushing aside the curtain veiling the entrance with the carrier, he entered. She blinked at him and he saw the moment her eyes took in his burdens and understood what they were. Shepard turned her head to observe him sidelong, one eyebrow quirked.

"Well, if I had expected you to bring something home, it wouldn't have been children." She paused, eyes falling to the dozing baby in her arms before returning to Garrus, narrowed. "Though, if this is a new habit you're forming, perhaps we had better discuss it sooner rather than later."

His mandibles twitched; humor was a good sign, he determined. Even if she thought he was crazy, she was at least making an effort at diffusing an otherwise tense situation.

"I'd promise not to do it again, but … they're just so damned cute."

Amelia lowered her head a bit, glaring at him through her brow, but said, "Bring them here, let me see."

Carefully, Garrus set the carrier near her leg and set the rucksack aside, shifting the older boy off his shoulder and into his lap as he sat beside her.

"How is she?" he asked, nodding toward the little red-haired girl.

Shepard smiled, "She's settling in."

"So... we can keep her?" he asked and Amelia made a face.

"You've never spent much time around children, have you?"

He shrugged, adjusting the boy in his lap, "Not too much, but I think I do alright."

"Well, for starters, you don't just 'keep them'. And I'll add that you haven't had to change her diaper yet, so you may not been too keen on her after that."

"I've been killing smelly things with you for a long time," said Garrus, "Oh, er, not that we'll be killing the children for smelling."

Shepard shook her head, "Yeah, you do alright, Vakarian."

"You know what I meant."

The girl fussed a little in her arms, stretching a little and Amelia began to bounce her ever so lightly. The older boy stirred then, looking around dazed for only a second before inhaling sharply and beginning to fight against the arms holding him.

"Whoa, now," said Garrus, trying to calm him. Shepard leaned away, turning the baby away from the younger turian. "Calm down, son. You're alright."

The boy craned his neck to look around over Garrus' arm, making straining noises in his throat. As soon as his eyes found the baby in the carrier, he seemed to calm and Garrus loosened his hold on him. He gave the man a brief look, shifting to lean back against his chest where he could easily see the baby carrier.

The little girl yawned with a squeak and stretched her legs straight out. The boy gave a start, looking at Shepard and the baby with wide eyes, recoiling a little into Garrus' embrace.

"It's okay," said Garrus, "They're with me."

The baby blinked her green eyes tiredly, looking around. The boy braced his hands on the man's leg and leaned closer to the baby, giving a small inquisitive grunt. He seemed more wary of Amelia than he was of the child, but closed the distance a bit more, nonetheless.

"Hi there," said Shepard, smiling and holding out her hand. He looked at it suspiciously and didn't take it, but moved to kneel between the two adults. Garrus took the opportunity to remove his armor and the boy stood and watched him, as though to make sure he wasn't leaving him alone with the humans.

"I'm not going anywhere," Garrus promised as he laid his armor in its case. When he looked back, the boy had crouched flat-footed and was carefully touching the baby girl's hand. He began to be very curious, letting his guard down more and more as he was exposed to this new setting.

He returned to Garrus' arms when Lentea and her children returned, but the smells of dinner enticed him to investigate these new humans a little more closely. This too drew the baby turian out of slumber and Garrus was pleased to see Amelia's grin, eyes moist as she had her first interaction with him.

Soon, they were all seated on the floor enjoying their meal, Yumi showing things to the turian boy that she thought he might find interesting in an effort to see if he could speak. However, he was most interested in his food and would watch her for a few moments between servings. Garrus and Amelia fed the babies in between feeding themselves and he couldn't help but love the way Shepard seemed to transition into that role with ease. He felt sure she was probably as terrified as he was on the inside, considering he had brought this on them without even conferring with her first, but he hoped her upturned lips and bubbling laughter wasn't just a nervous act for his benefit.

Later, when Lentea, David and Yumi had retired to the rear room of the tent and both turian boys and the little girl were sleeping soundly, he and Amelia lay with the older turian boy on the blankets between them, the babies in their own carriers. Propped on her elbow, Shepard lightly stroked the boy's brow plates and he purred in his sleep. Garrus found, with no small measure of amusement, that the little girl cooed with every exhale. Reaching across the boy, Garrus touched Shepard's stomach with the back of his hand.

"So …" he said, voice trailing as he wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to say.

She smiled vaguely at the child between them and asked, "Do you remember where we were a week ago?"

Garrus thought for a moment, retracting his hand reluctantly.

"On the Normandy, chasing Kai Leng to Cerberus headquarters," she said, answering her own question.

"It's only been a week? Seems much longer," he said honestly.

"In the last seven days, I have fought some of the hardest battles; my strongest enemies." Shepard paused, "Faced the hardest decision of my life."

"Which decision was that?"

"Whether or not to destroy the Reapers."

Mandibles twitching, Garrus said, "You haven't really talked much about what happened on the Citadel before the end."

"It wasn't as easy as you might think."

"You made the right decision."

Shepard looked at him then, "I made a selfish decision."

"Eradicating the biggest threat to the galaxy was a selfish decision?"

"I could have saved every-"

Garrus couldn't keep the incredulous tone from his voice as he cut her off, "Amelia, stop it. I have seen you do the impossible and sacrifice more of yourself than any other person, but if millions of years of history has told us anything, it is that sometimes people go extinct and there is no way to stop it. If there was a way to save the Reapers themselves, I'm sure you would have found it."

She was quiet for a moment.

"What brought this on, anyway?" he asked, reaching for her hand. She let him twine their fingers.

"There was a way, Garrus," she told him.

"Amelia-"

"I had three choices, but only one of them would have put me here in this room right now."

Garrus watched her face for a moment.

"For what it is worth, I'm glad this was your choice."

"As guilty as I feel for saying it, I am, too." She returned her gaze to the child between them. "Especially now."

The boy stirred and rolled to his side.

"But for all the wars I have fought, and all the people that have set out to kill me, nothing has been more terrifying than this."

"Three small children?"

She shook her head and laid back against the pillows.

"Besides the fact that we are currently living on the floor of someone else's tent, I should probably tell you that I am a terrible cook."

Garrus chuckled and yawned, "Shepard, these kids are survivors. Your cooking won't change that, but just um … get them to really like you first."


End file.
